Musings
by AnnoymousPoet
Summary: HADES has been defeated, but Varl is left unsure about what the future holds, especially with how much has changed.


It was finally over.

Aloy had slain the Metal Demon, and the Eclipse had been almost wiped out. While there was plenty of damage to be fixed, none of the tribes wanted to think about that just yet. There had been so much death, so much suffering, fear, uncertainty, and destruction. If one thing could be agreed on amongst all the tribes, it was that it was time to celebrate a hard-earned moment of peace. And so, after mourning the ones who fell defending the city, the tribes united once more, filling the streets of Meridian with joyous cheering and music.

Of course, the Nora remained by the Spire. War-Chief Sona had been adamant that the Nora remain out of the city: the thought of mingling with the faithless repulsed her. However, the Vanguard Oseram had decided to bring the celebration to them, and had been adamant that the Nora could at least enjoy some meat...and maybe a few beers. Eventually, even the stubborn Sona could not resist the intoxicating smell of meat roasting over an open fire, and the Nora Braves had joined in the celebrations as well.

Varl was one of the few who didn't join in: he just didn't feel like partying. There was too much on his mind.

All of his life, he'd been taught that the world outside of the Sacred Land was tainted, barren. Going into Carja land, he had expected to see a city of death and suffering. At the very least, he had expected something remotely resembling Nora land.

Instead, he saw a city reaching to the sky. Even from the Spire, he could make out buildings of stone, built in shapes and designs he had never seen before. Then again, other than the soldiers, everything about the Carja was unlike anything he had seen before. The clothing, the people, the priests, the Vanguard-no, those were Oseram. The wall surrounding the Meridian made the one at the Embrace look like the work of a child. The Carja, the Oseram...everything made the Sacred Land feel so small. Made him feel small.

"Want one?"

Varl turned to see the Oseram who had fought alongside him at the Spire, and he was holding a mug of beer in each hand.

"I'll pass," he replied.

"Suit yourself," the Oseram replied, sitting next to him. "Just hold onto it for me, will ya? Make sure I don't drink it,"

"Aren't...you going to drink anyway?"

"I'm trying to drink less," the Oseram replied, taking a swig from his mug. "Didn't get your name,"

"Varl," the Nora replied. "What's yours?"

"Erend," was the answer. "So, what do you think about the Sundom?"

Varl looked at the mug in his hands. "It's...definitely different from the Embrace,"

Erend let out a hearty laugh. "Say what you mean, don't worry about my feelings."

Varl let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. Well...when I thought about the Tainted Lands, I always thought it would work...barren, dirty, full of destruction and sin. And when I came here...it was nothing like I expected."

"Hey, you haven't even been in Meridian yet," said the Oseram. "Well, parts of it are dirty and full of sin...eh, most of it,"

This brought Varl less comfort than he had hoped. "It's strange. The idea of a tribe run by men...it just feels so wrong. But still, it's not what I expected from a tribe of the faithless,"

"Ehh...I wouldn't say faithless,"

Varl's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"The Carja aren't faithless," Erend repeated. "I mean, I'm no expert, but I know the basics of it. Basically, they think that the sun is the God, and that the Sun-King is the sun in human form: a source of light, warmth, wisdom, whatever,"

Varl scoffed. "You're joking,"

"Well, either that or a divinely-sent representative, I can't remember. It's a load of scrap either way. Between you and me, I'm not even sure Avad believes it,"

"Avad...he's the Sun-King, right?"

"Yep. And a huge improvement over the last one, I have to say," the Oseram said, taking another swig. "I know where you're coming from, Varl. I remember back when I first saw Meridian,"

"What did you think it was gonna look like?"

"Since the Carja always have so many feathers, I figured they'd probably live in nests,"

Varl burst out laughing at the thought, which seemed to lift Erend's spirits.

"Glad to finally see you smile. But it was nothing like what I've seen. The Oseram are pretty spread out, so I'd never seen so many people in one place. At most, I'd say eight or nine families in one settlement,"

Varl's eyes widened. "You're that small of a tribe?"

"No no no no no. There are a lot of settlements, but the settlements are small. Otherwise we'd probably wring each other's necks," Erend said. "It looks more like the Nora than Carja, but...that doesn't say much, does it?"

"No," Varl agreed. "If you don't mind me asking...what do the Oseram believe?"

Erend looked confused. "Believe? Uhh...we believe in the forge and fire. In the brewing barrel."

"I meant like...gods or goddesses. Like the Sun or All-Mother,"

Erend shrugged. "Depends on who you ask. But me? I don't like to think about that."

Varl shifted, unsure about where this was going. "Why not?"

"There's a lot we don't know, and there's no point in pretending that we do. When people say they know the "will of the gods", most of the time they're idiots who end up doing more harm than good. Look at the Mad Sun-King: he thought that the Red Raids would appease the Sun and stop the Derangement. I don't know much about the Nora, but are there any of you like that?"

"I-" Varl started, trying to prove Erend wrong. What would a faithless know? And yet, the face of a Nora appeared in his mind. Two of them.

"Well?" Erend asked.

"Yeah," he admitted. "One of the High Matriarchs...Lansra. She always has the best interest of the tribe at heart, but...this stays between us, right?"

"Right,"

Varl sighed in relief. "She's a fool. I won't go into the details, but if we had followed her, the Nora would have been wiped out. She cares more about her traditions than her people,"

There was much more that Varl wanted to say: Lansra had called Aloy a demon in spite of all she had done for the tribe. Lansra tried to stop the Nora from retreating into the Sacred Mountain during the most recent assault. If it was up to him, Lansra should have been removed from her position, regardless of how many generations of descendants she had. But to say that was blasphemy: his mother would gut him like a machine if she heard it.

"And Resh...one of the Nora Braves, or at least _was_ one of us,"

"Did he die here?" Erend asked.

"No. That scum never came to Meridian. Bent the rules whenever he saw fit."

"Sounds like an arrogant bung to me," Erend said. "That's why you can't focus too much on gods or spirits: we're not smart enough to figure out what they really want. I know there's something, but a guy like me? How can I be smart enough to understand the will of a god when I wasn't able to save my sister in time?"

"You...lost your sister too?"

Erend sighed. "Yeah. She was captain of the Vanguard, and one of the strongest women I've ever met: tough, noble, kept her people in check. Especially me," he took another swig of beer.

"Sounds like my mother," Varl said.

"Is your mother the War-Chief?"

"Yeah,"

"Figured, you two look alike. Anyway, it happened not too long after that massacre in the Proving. She...she held out just long enough to say goodbye."

Varl looked down. "I'm sorry, Erend,"

"Being sorry isn't going to bring her back," Erend replied. "I've been trying my best to grow up since then: all I can do now is just hope I make her proud,"

"I'm sure you've done that already," Varl said.

"Ah, you're just saying that,"

"No, I'm not. It was an honor fighting alongside you at the Spire,"

Erend grinned. "You as well," he replied, wiping his mouth. "Hey, where's Aloy? I haven't seen her all night,"

Varl stiffened. "The Sun-King invited her to a banquet at the palace. She thought it would be rude to refuse,"

"Ah," Erend said. "Well, Avad owes her a lot. She saved his life a few weeks back,"

"Really?"

"Yeah, but that's another story. Let's just hope the nobles don't think she's having an affair with the Sun-King too,"

"What?!"

"Just kidding," Erend said, a smirk on his face. "About the affair part, not saving the king. I owe Aloy a lot,"

"We all do," Varl said.

Aloy...

He remembered Aloy's words, right after she had spoken to All-Mother:

 _"I don't belong to you! There's a whole world outside your borders. Whole tribes of people just as good as you, and it is all in danger! It's a world worth fighting for. Not just here. Everywhere."_

Varl finally understood what she was talking about: Erend was an Oseram, one of the faithless, and yet he fought with as much courage and strength as any Nora Brave. As different as Meridian was, Varl agreed: it was worth fighting for.

That was what bothered him. It felt like...everything he had ever been told, everything he believed in was wrong. And he could tell that Aloy was hiding something. Like it was something she couldn't put into words. Part of him wanted to know what it was, but part of him feared he wouldn't be able to handle it.

Maybe that was why she didn't tell them.

"So...when are you heading back to the Sacred Land?"

"A few days, as soon as we're all healed up enough to travel," Varl answered. "After that...I don't know."

"Don't worry about it," Erend said. "You've got time for that. For now, though, take a break and relax. You've earned it."

Varl smiled. After all the fighting...all the loss the Nora had suffered in the last few weeks, it would be nice to rest properly.

War-Chief Sona seemed to agree. A few minutes later, Varl saw her like he had never seen her before: hiccuping and giggling drunkedly. After making all the Braves promise never to speak again, Varl finally took a drink of the beer Erend had offered him.

He would worry about the future tomorrow.

* * *

 **Just something I thought up about Zero Dawn's ending. Not my best work, but it's a start.  
**

 **This is based on the character interactions Aloy can have right before the final battle. Sona is vocally disgusted about being in the "Tainted Lands". Varl seems more uncomfortable and confused than revolted, but he doesn't admit it outright.**

 **I'm considering making this a series, but I have five other stories that I need to focus on, so this will remain a one-shot for now. Let me know what you think.  
**


End file.
